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?“Damn straight.”
?“—but I haven’t been with a woman in well over two years.”
?She pulled the door open and gave a low sigh. “You’re right, Mark.”
?“Wait. Did you actually agree with me?”
?“No,” she said as she stepped into the room and pulled me into the darkness. “I just mean, it must be hard losing your wife.”
?“Don’t pity me,” I barked, surprised by the sound of anger in my voice. “I don’t need pity.”
?“I’m not giving any,” she challenged. “I just understand that going out and meeting people is tough. And men have, well, certain needs.”
?“And women don’t?”
?She shut the door, locked it. “Some of us don’t.”
?“I don’t know if I believe you.”
?She turned on the lights.
?The space was tremendous. It ran the entire length of the story and was open with beautiful varnished oak floors. I could see two walled areas in the back that contained bedrooms and bathrooms, but the living room, dining room, and kitchen were open. One space melted into the next. The kitchen had black granite countertops and an island with a range. The dining area had a teak wood table with chairs for six, and the living area boasted contemporary leather furniture and a fireplace.
?“Wow,” I said quietly.
?“It is impressive,” Sheryl noted. “Nicer than where I live now, off of Fourth Street. And I was lucky to get that.”
?She moved into the kitchen and opened the large, stainless steel refrigerator.
?“What are you doing?” I whispered.
?“Checking the first obvious place.”
?“Obvious for what?”
?“If Randall did bring someone up for fun and games, he would have bought a favorite food or something unusual.”
?“There’s champagne and caviar,” I said, and pointed at two bottles on the inside of the door.
?“The cheap brands. No, this is what he had on hand most of the time,” she said and closed the door. The small notebook at once appeared in her hands like a magic trick.
?“For God’s sake, what did he do for a living?”
?“I told you! He was an investment banker—a very good one,” Sheryl answered as she looked down the edge of the countertop. “Made himself a lot of money. Me too, for that matter.”
?“I thought the breakup was ugly.”
?“Oh, it was. You see, Randall made a lot of investments in my name, especially when I received the royalties from the books. Since the investments were in my name, I wanted to keep them.”
?“He wasn’t willing to do that?”
?“No, he actually gave me a hard time. Told me he’d built them up from practically nothing. I finally had a forensic accountant look over the accounts. He told me that Randall’s finances were not exactly what they appeared to be.”
?“Was he doing anything illegal?”
?“I never really knew. With what my accountant found, my lawyer suggested the IRS might want to take a hard look if he didn’t give me my little portfolio and a good settlement. That made Randall cave.”
